Concentrator.



PATENTE!) JAN. 6, 1903.

J. s. BROWNBLL.

GONGBNTRATOR. APPLIATION FILED MAB. 24, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

N0 MODEL.

UNrrnn STATES ATENT OFFICE.

JAMES S. BROWNELL, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

coNcz-:NTRAToa SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 717,805, dated January 6, 1903.

n Application tiled March 24, 19`02.

T0 a/ZZ whom, it 11i/ty con/Germ.

Beit known that l, JAMES S. BnowNnLL, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of San Francisco, State of California, have invented an Improvement in Concentrators; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact de scription ot the same.

My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for concentrating andseparating valuable heavy material from the lighter waste or gangue as applied to machines in which an endless traveling belt is mounted at an angle and gradually moved up the incline and at the same time given a shaking movement. These machines are sometimes called vanners My invention consists in certain details by which the driving-gear-actuating worm can be disconnected to stop the travel of the belt while allowing the shaking movement to proceed, means for mounting the worm-driving shaft, and for shifting the driving-belt upon the cone-pulleys to vary the speed of travel.

It also comprises improvements in the spring-supports upon which the frame is mounted and the manner of adjusting the pulleys over which the pulp-carrying belt passes.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus. Fig. 2 is an end View. Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 are different views of the elastic supports.. Figs. 8 and 9 are views of worm-gear-disengagiug device. Fig. 10 is a view showing the speed-changing device. Figs. 11, 12, and 13 are views of belt-cieaning devices.

The main frame A of my machine may be made of wood or angle or channel iron. and has mounted at opposite ends the drums 2, over which the concentrator-belt 3 passes. This frame is supported, by means of springarms or movable uprights 4, at opposite sides near each end. The lower ends of these arms may be secured to the supporting base or frame by bolts passing through angle-pieces 5, in which the lower ends of the springs are inserted, or the springs themselves may be bent at right angles for this purpose. The upper ends of the springs are curved upon themselves, as shown at 6, and the end which Serial No. 99,779. (No model.)

is thus curved over extends down a short distance parallel with the main upright portion 4. This end is slotted, as shown at 4'7. A block S is fixed in the channel-iron A to lill the space at this point, and a bolt 9 passes through the channel-iron, the block, and the slot in the spring-arm. There being four of these supports for the frame, it will be seen that by loosening the nut upon the bolt 9 either end of the frame may be raised or lowered with relation to the base and the angle of inclination altered to suit. These supports may be made in single pieces, asin Fig. 3, or they may be made in two parts united in various ways, as at 6, Figs. 4, 6, and 7, so that in case of breakage or for other reasons, if desired, the upper or lower portions may be separately replaced. In order to adjust these supports to and from each other, I may employ angular arms or brackets, as at 5i, Figs. 4 and 7, which are secured to the door or base and have slotted arms eX- tending horizontally over the tank 40. With this construction the blocks 5, which carry the lower ends of the supports 4, are adjustaoly bolted or secured upon these brackets, and I am thus enabled to place the supports in any relation with the belt and its frame without regard to the width of the tank 40 or other parts below.

The raising and lowering of the frame Ais eiected by means of a screw 10, passing through an angle-plate 11, which is carried by the upright 4, and the point of the screw contacts with the .angular frame A, so that by turning the screw the frame can be raised or lowered. y

Upon the end of the shaft of the drum 2 at the head of the machine is a spur-gear 12, and

vthis is engaged by a worm or screw 13, carried by a shaft 14, which extends alongside of the frame, as shown, and upon this shaft is a cone-pulley 15, to which motion is transmitted from the corresponding reversed cone 16, mounted upon the shaft 17, which shaft carries the main driving-pulley 1S, through which power is transmitted to rotate it. The pulley 15 is suspended and driven by the belt 19 passing around it, and the pulley 16 and the end of the shaft 14 is slidable in a vertically-slotted guide 20, which is supported by a hanger 21 from the main iron frame. The

other end of the shaft 14 is supported in a swiveled journal-box 22, which is turnable upon pivot-pins or screws, as 23, these screws passing through arms of a hanger 24, which is bolted to and suspended from the part 25, and this part is connected with a sleeve 26, which incloses an eccentric 27, mounted upon the shaft of the beltdrum 2. The eccentric has a handle 28, extendingoutwardly through a slot in the sleeve 26, and by turning this handle the eccentricis turned around upon the shaft, so as to bring the thinner or thicker portion upwardly. When thethinnerportion isabove and the thicker portion below the sleeve 2G, the parts suspended therefrom will be depressed, and the worm 13 will be thus disengaged from the gear 12, so that no motion will be communicated to cause the concentrator-belt to travel while thus disengaged; but the other movements of the apparatus may 'continue independent of this travel. "When it is desired to again engage the gear, the eccentric is turned so as to raise the sleeve 26 and the worm until the latter again engages with the gear.

The speed at which the concentrator-belt ltravels is regulated by the position of the belt 19 upon the cone-pulleys 15 and 16. Thus when it is near the large end of the cone 16 and correspondingly nearer the smaller end of the pulley the same rate of speed of the 4driving-pulley 18 will communicate a faster movement to the Worm-shaft 14, and when the belt is shifted to the opposite end of the cones 15 and 16 the movement will be slower. This shifting is effected from the head of the machine by means of a wheel or crank 29, fixed upon a screw-shaft 30, and this screwshaft passes through a slidable traveling block 31, which carries the belt-shifter 32, the latter being in the form of a fork which incloses the beltand moves it in unison with the movement of the block 3l, which travels upon the screw-shaft 30'when the latter is turned.

The slotted guide 20, in which the end of the shaft 14 is carried, allows for up and down movements of the shaft to accommodate any irregularities of the belt 19, and it serves by the Weight of the parts thus suspended to keep a proper tension at all times upon the belt.

The transverse shaking movement of the concentrator-belt and the frame, supported upon the spring-arms 4 is effected by means of au eccentric or eccentrics 33 upon the driving-shaft, having pitmen connecting with the frame in such a manner as to impart the transverse shaking motion thereto.

The concentrator-belt is supportedlbetween the end drums by the usual bearing-pulleys 34, which maintain the upper part in an essentially straight condition or without sagging, and the lower part of the belt passes down into the Water-tank 40, which Washes off any adherent concentrates after it passes over the head-drum,passing beneath the drum 35, and thence it rises over a drum 35, and

thence to the main drum 2 at the tail of the machine. The drums 35 and 35 have their shafts journaled in hangers, as at 36, and these hangers are suspended from the main frame, as at 37. Arms 38 extend approximately at right angles with the hangers 36, and screws 39 pass through fixed nuts, and the points resting against the arms 38 when the screws are turned they will act to swing the hangers 36, and thus moving the drums 35 Will regulate the tension upon the concentrator-belt Where it passes over the drum.

In order to clean any adherent particles from the belt 3 as it returns beneath the headdrum, I have shown brushes of various descriptions, as at 41. These brushes may be stationary and supported from the main frame, as in Figs. 11 and 12, or rotary, as in Fig. 13, in which case it may be driven by a belt or chain 42 from the drum-shaft.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a vanner or concentrator, including an endless traveling belt and a Worm-gear the members of Which are movable one relative to the other and through which motion is transmitted, an eccentric from the strap of which the Worm is suspended, and by the turning of which the worm and gear may be engaged or disengaged, and a swiveled journal-box suspended from said strap and in which the shaft of the worm is mounted.

2. In a Worm-gear driving device for endless-belt concentrator, an eccentric turnable upon the gear-shaft, and a strap Within which it is also turnable, a hanger dependent from the strap,ajournal-box carried by said hanger, in Which box the Worm-shaft is turnable, and a means by which the eccentric may be turned to raise or lower the worm and engage or disengage it with the gear.

3. The combination in a concentrator of an endless belt, drums about which it passes and a frame upon which the drums are journaled, a worm-gear the members of which are movable one relative to the other by which Inotion is transmitted to the belt, a swiveled bearing supported from the movable member of the Worm-gear and receiving the shaft of the other member of said gear, elastic supports fixed at the bottom and upon the upper ends of which the said mechanism is carried, and devices by Which a side shaking motion is communicated thereto.

4. rlhe combination in a concentrator of an endless belt, a drum at either end over which the belt passes, a Worm-gear the members of which are movable one relative to the other and through which motion is transmitted to the belt, a swiveled bearing supported from the movable member of the Worm-gear and receiving the shaft of the other member of said gear, elastic legs iixed at the bottom and having the upper ends formed to support the frame, and means connected with the legs to raise or lower and adjust the frame.

IOO

IIO

5. The combination in an endless-belt coneentrator, of a frame with belt-carrying drums journaled at the ends, elastic supporting-legs, and a Worm-gear to drive the belt, a verticallymovable journal-box in which one end of the worm-shaft is carried, a cone-pulley upon the other end of said worm-shaft, a` corresponding pulley upon a main driving-shaft, and a belt by which the worm-shaft and its pulley are suspended and driven, and a slidablyguided journal-box for that end of the wormshaft.

6. The combination in an endless-belt concentrator of a gear upon one of the belt-drum shafts,an approximately horizontal shaft having a worm at one end to engage the gear, and a vertically-slotted guide and a hanger depending from the main frame, and a conepulley said guide and pulley being at the other end of' said horizontal shaft, aj corresponding pulley upon the main driving-shaft and a belt between the pulleys by which the worm, shaft pulley is suspended and driven.

7. The combination in an endless-belt concentrator of a belt Kand drums over which it passes, adriving-gear and a worm the shaft of which is parallel with the machine-frame,

a swiveled bearing for the outer end of said shaft and means whereby the worm is moved relative to the said gear, cone-pulleys, one of which is carried by the Worm-shaft and the other on the driving-shaft, a belt around said cone-pulleys, a belt-shifting yoke and a guided rod by which it is carried, and means located at the head endof the machine by which the rod is moved to shift the belt.

8. in a concentrator the combination of a frame, an endless belt and drums over which it passes, a power-transmitting mechanism including a worm-gear the members of which are movable one relative to the other, elastic supports upon the upper ends of which the frame is carried, fixed angular slotted brackets, and clamps to which the lower ends of the elastic supports are fixed, said clamps 'being adjustable upon the brackets, and holdingnuts for the clamps.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JAS. S. BROWNELL. 

